Martina Kovač
Summary Known as "Marty" to her friends and loved ones, Technical Sergeant Martina Kovač hails from the state of Georgia. Her family has a long history of military service: Her father, Samuel Kovač, served in the 75th Ranger Regiment, while her grandfather served in Vietnam and her great-grandfather was a WW2 veteran. She is an only child, but continued her family service tradition by enlisting in the Air Force after graduating high school. As the senior NCO of the SOR's suit technicians she is responsible for overseeing all aspects of maintaining and repairing the HEAT operators' EV-MASS systems, and keeping them mission ready. Although she originally intended to become an astronaut, she adjusted her career path when the SOR was founded and quickly found herself heading up the large team of suit technicians - two per Operator. She is highly educated, extremely intelligent and has enjoyed rapid career progress, but is kept down-to-earth by some of the less glamorous realities of her role. Among other things she is responsible for final signing-off on all suit measurements, including the intimate ones necessary so that the EV-MASS can recycle its operator's urine and feces. Despite this degrading duty she is held in high regard by the HEAT, and is even treated like one of "the Lads" in many situations. She and Adam Arés became good friends during the early years of the SOR, and later progressed to a serious relationship . As of Deathworlders Chapter 37 they are engaged to be married. Appearance A petite blonde with round Slavic facial features and clear muscle definition thanks to both her military career and her relationship with Adam. When not in uniform she has a slightly tomboyish fashion sense, and tends to wear sportswear when off-duty. Most often seen wearing an expression of mild mischief. She has a pale burn scar down the right hand side of her back and upper thigh, relic of a well-healed injury suffered during a fire on board HMS Caledonia. Skills Kovač's PAFSC (Primary Air Force Specialty Code) is 1P0X1 - Aircrew Flight Equipment, making her an expert in aerospace systems, and especially in spacesuits. She describes herself as a "rocket surgeon" and has memorized every component and function of the EV-MASS system. Her role overlaps with operator health and well-being, and her secondary AFSC (4T0X1 - Medical Laboratory) reflects her training in phlebotomy and basic hematology and urology. Being a serving member of the US Air Force who is regularly posted aboard a spaceship, she is also trained as both a base defender and firefighter. Personality When relaxing, Marty is mischievous, irreverant and tomboyish with a fondness for gently puncturing egos. Underneath this she is a level-headed bridge-builder and nurturer, with a strong instinct to help people be the best version of themselves. She is selfless and courageous, having willingly risked her own health and career for the sake of a badly-burned British sailor by giving up her supply of the regenerative medicine Crue-D to repair his injury. Although this left her with a burn scar and disciplinary action on her permanent record, she considers the sacrifice to have been entirely worth it. Nevertheless, ever since that incident she has wrestled with a mild case of pyrophobia. She is unabashedly sexual and flirtatious, and has been known to deliberately make the men in her life uncomfortable. She has a passion for classic poetry and literature, especially nineteenth century writers like Keats, Tennyson, Coleridge and Kipling. Her favorite is ''The Jungle Book, ''and her guilty pleasure is bad Gaoian "workhouse" soap operas. The worse, the better. Relationships Marty is close with her parents, especially her father, and regrets that she can't visit them as often as she would like. She has a strong and affectionate relationship with all the men of the HEAT, especially with Christian Firth whom she regards as something of an older brother. She also gets along well with the HEAT Gaoians, and enjoys brushing their fur when she can. She is thoroughly in love with and engaged to Adam Arés, despite (or perhaps because of) his romantic clumsiness. She has a positive, sisterly relationship with Ava Ríos despite Ava's history with Adam, and has helped her with her rehabilitation. Quotes “Politicization of the sciences. Like that ever ends well.” - Ch. 40: War On Two Worlds, pt.1 - Instigation